Heart of Courage
by Gabrielle Roe
Summary: Her name was Mellony Gwenyth Walker. She liked Mel much better. Mel knew for a fact she liked adventures, she liked living with her grandparents, and living in the woods was boring. What she didn't know was that her family was keeping the mother of all secrets from her. "Grandma, why is there an owl in the kitchen?"


It was a dark night. An unusually dark night. The stars and the moon seemed to pale in comparison to the inky black night sky. An older woman peered through her window for what may have been the hundredth time that night. Her name was Matilda Walker and she couldn't shake this feeling something was going to happen tonight. Over the years, Matilda has learned to trust her feeling. Why, just a few weeks ago she had an ominous feeling and the next day, word got out that James and Lily Potter was killed by You-Know-Who but their infant son, Harry Potter, survived the killing curse and no one has heard of You-Know-Who since. It wasn't long after that Sirius Black killed Peter Pettigrew and all that was left of him was his finger. They were all such good kids too, troublesome at times, but good nevertheless.

Matilda sighed and moved away from the window and over to her husband, Aiden, who sat in his plush chair, reading Shakespeare. He took a quick glance at her before setting down his book.

"Nothing's going to happen to us, 'Tilda." He said tiredly.

"It's not a bad feeling entirely. Something's just going to happen!" Matilda said, now pacing the floor. "And it's driving me mad that I don't know what it is!"

Aiden shook his head. "Matilda, it's nearly midnight. Why don't we just head to bed?"

"I can't sleep until I figure out what's going on. What if it has to do with Josephine!" Matilda exclaimed

Josephine Walker, their only daughter, was a beautiful grown witch. She looked like a delicate young thing, but fiery and quick tempered. Josephine, more commonly known as Jojo, had thick, curly brown hair she inherited from her muggle father and golden eyes she gained from her mother. Her skin of alabaster was flawless and soft. Jojo was irresistible to men. Matilda and Aiden hadn't heard from her in nearly two years though. Occasionally they'll receive an owl from her and that's all they'll ever get. They'll send their own letters back, but never get an answer. It worried them, but there wasn't much they could do. They tried finding her yet every time they were close, she would up and vanish. So Matilda and Aiden just accepted the fact that they didn't know when they would see their youngest child again.

"Matilda, I know . . . But please come to bed. We're going to have a long day tomorrow. You have to get up early for your job at Flourish and Bott's and I have to go to the Muggle world for my job as a doctor," Aiden said soothingly.

Sighing in defeat, Matilda walked with her husband to their bedroom. They dressed in their night clothes and climbed into bed together. With a flick of her wand, Matilda shut the lights off in the entire bed. She set wand next to the bed before closing her eyes, trying to sleep. But no matter what, Matilda couldn't. After lying in the dark for an hour next to her sleeping husband, Matilda crawled out of bed and tiptoed to the kitchen, grabbing her wand along the way. Maybe she could find a potion recipe to help her sleep. The greying brunette plucked a large and old book from her bookshelf that was specifically for potions and flipped through the pages. Halfway through the yellowed pages of the book, she found what she was looking for. A Sleeping Draught, but it took nearly an hour to make. But she needed to sleep, so what was another hour?

Matilda waved her wand and muttered a spell. Cabinets flew open and out came her ingredients along with the tools she would need. Her cauldron settled itself in the fireplace and a fire was lit. She put four sprigs of Lavender and two measures of a standard ingredient to her mortar then crushed it into a paste with her pestle. But right as she was about to add two blobs of Flobberworm mucus to her cauldron, there was a knock at the front door. It wasn't too loud nor was it too quiet. It was just loud enough for Matilda to hear it.

The older woman armed herself with her wand and walked stealthily to the door. It could be a Death Eater on the other side or just an innocent civilian. Still, Matilda didn't want to risk it. She approached the door and unlocked it. Grasping the knob in a tight grip, she took a deep breath to calm her nerves. Matilda opened the door slightly and took a peek outside. It was dark, but she could see no one was there. She opened the door further and took a small step outside.

_"Lumos,"_ Matilda whispered and the tip of her wand lit up like a torch, lighting up the surrounding area.

There was no one. So then why was there a knock?

Matilda shook her head. "I must be losing my mind."

Just as she was about to step back into her house, there was another sound that made her stop. Something she knew all too well after being a mother to three boys and one girl. It was the sound of a baby crying out. Her maternal instincts kicked in and she ran out of her house, dressed in nothing more than a night gown. Matilda followed the sound of the crying baby all the way to the very edge of the front yard.

Hidden by the bushes was a baby bundled in a thick blanket. The poor thing had tears streaming down their red face, wailing so loudly it could rival a young Mandrake. Matilda crouched down and gathered the baby into her arms, whispering comforting words to calm the child. Once the baby had quietened down, Matilda carried the infant into the house without a second thought.

_"Nox,"_ Matilda said as she entered the house, extinguishing the light from her wand.

Her eyes wandered over to the cauldron. No doubt the draught was ruined, so Matilda waved her wand once more and the flame died out and her ingredients were putting themselves away. She sat in her husband's armchair and examined the baby closely. The child was making soft noises, their eyes still shut. Matilda carefully unwrapped the child from the blanket and in the process, a letter fell out. Written in a familiar cursive, the letter was addressed to "Mom and Dad". Matilda's breath caught in her throat.

"Please tell me this isn't what I think it is," Matilda whispered softly so as to not disturb the child.

She picked up the letter and opened it, pulling out a letter with color changing ink.

_Dear Mom and Dad,_

_I don't know how much time I have so I will try and make this quick. This baby is the reason I couldn't face you. I didn't know how you would react learning I was pregnant. I saw how you two blew up at Elliot for getting his girlfriend pregnant before even considering the possibility of getting married. It scared me that you would be angry at me and my child, so I kept my distance._

_Her name is Mellony Gwenyth Walker and she was born July 5th, 1980. She truly is a gift sent from heaven. Mellony loves it when you sing her to sleep and is quite adventurous so keep a close eye on her. Please keep her safe and love her unconditionally as you did with me and my brothers. I know that within a few years, as Mellony grows older, you will know who exactly her father is and I plead that you do not resent her because of who he is._

_As you know, I'm against You-Know-Who and his followers. Recently, a Death Eater tracked me down and I couldn't bear to keep Mellony with me knowing the danger she would be in. That's why I had Etta bring her to you. Send Etta to Hogwarts where I know Professor Dumbledore will give her a good job._

_I love you both very much, I just hope you feel the same now that you know the truth. Stay safe and tell Mellony each night that Mommy loves her._

_Love,_

_Jojo_

_P.S. All of Mellony's belongings are hidden in our cabin out in the woods. If you wish to collect them, wait a month then go into the cellar. They will be in the hidden cupboard._

Matilda set the letter down with a shaky hand. Her head was racing with the information she was bombarded with, not too mention she was drowning in guilt and worry. Tears streamed down her face. It didn't matter how many times she wiped them away, they would just come back.

First of all, Aiden and she were the reasons Jojo didn't come home. After wondering why, she finally got the answer and it definitely was one she didn't want to be true. They had struck fear into their darling daughter of the idea they would _hate_ her. The possibility of that ever happening would be laughed at if the situation wasn't so severe. Matilda and Aiden could never hate their own children, it was downright impossible! Yes, they will make mistakes which the couple will be angry at, but they could never be angry at their children. Besides, Elliot gave them their first grandchild, a little boy named Lucas Aiden Walker. He was a precious boy, shy at first but he warms up greatly once you get to know the rascal.

Secondly, they had a granddaughter they never even knew of, they had no idea who her father was, and they were expected to raise her. Of course, Matilda would raise Mellony without question and she was sure Aiden would feel the same once he read the letter.

Thirdly, Etta was missing. Etta was Jojo's personal house elf that she took with her when she left. The only reason Matilda could explain the reason behind Etta's absence was that Etta was being hunted down by a Death Eater on her journey and in order to keep Mellony safe was to hide her in the bushes and knock on the door before running off and luring the Death Eater away. But it didn't make sense. None of it made sense but Matilda would just have to accept it.

Finally, Jojo was in danger. An overwhelming feeling of helplessness washed over Matilda just as the guilt and worry did. Josephine Colette Walker, their one and only daughter, was being hunted down by Death Eaters and Matilda and Aiden couldn't do anything about it. The current whereabouts of Jojo were unknown, including if she was alive or . . . well, you know.

Mellony moved in Matilda's arms and opened her eyes. She stared at Matilda with golden eyes, so innocent to what was going on around her and so confused as to why Matilda was weeping. Like her mother, her skin was soft and clear of any flaws and her hair was thick and curly yet soft, but it wasn't brown. Black as the night sky actually. Matilda wracked her brain to think of Jojo's boyfriend before she ran off. A young wizard by the name of Thurston Dorsey. He was tall, tan, had dark brown eyes, and dark brown hair. The black hair could just be a recessive gene, like how Aiden had his great grandfather's hair while his grandparents and parents had very thin blonde hair of varying shades.

"Hello little one, I'm your Grandma," Matilda said softly and smiled at her granddaughter.

Mellony reached up with a tiny hand and tapped Matilda on the nose, making her chuckle. "G'ma!"

"That's right, Grandma!" Matilda cheered, her tears drying though her dread remained. "How about we wake up Grandpa and introduce you, hm?"

"G'pa!" Mellony giggled, clapping her hands.

"He's going to get a kick out of you," Matilda chuckled and walked towards the bedroom with Mellony in her arms. She felt brave enough to tell him about their granddaughter, but she didn't know if she had the heart to tell him exactly why she came into their possession.

* * *

**Hey, is'a me, Gabby~ **

**I know I have two other stories in the process but I couldn't help but write this. I love Harry Potter (books, movies, and everything else), and wanted to write my own fanfiction. The story will follow the books and maybe I'll add a few movie bits in there as well.**

**I hope you enjoy the story of Mellony Walker and y'know, follow this and what not.**

**Toodles~**


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